Is it time to throw out the creative director and rely on big data to predict what consumers want to wear next? Assistant Professor Ayelet Israeli discusses how Gap CEO Art Peck considers this bold idea to boost sales.
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Passengers arriving at international hubs often endure delays, especially at immigration and security. This study of London’s Heathrow Airport develops a system to provide real-time information about transfer passengers’ journeys through the airport to better serve passengers, airlines, and their employees. It shows how advanced machine learning could be accessible to managers.

This paper presents analytic tools to formulate strategy in large, evolving technical systems. It explains how value-enhancing technical change comes from the effective management of technical and strategic bottlenecks in conjunction with module boundaries and property rights. The analytic tools are used to explain the evolution of three historic technologies: early aircraft, machine tools, and container shipping.

With videos of bad business practices routinely going viral, it might be tempting to prohibit customers from recording their surroundings. But banning cameras is the wrong way to go, says Benjamin Edelman.
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When a business known for delivering an exemplary customer experience faces cutbacks, what services get chopped? Assistant Professor Susanna Gallani discusses a recent case study about an airline that looks not just to survive a downturn but emerge stronger.
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Air rage is often blamed on overcrowded flights and postage stamp-size seats, but researchers Michael Norton and Katherine A. DeCelles find another culprit: resentment toward passengers in first class.
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The Germanwings tragedy catapulted the issues of mental health and corporate risk and responsibility into the world's headlines. Professor John Quelch argues it's time for companies to make employee mental health more than an afterthought.
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In many markets, a product is offered at the same price regardless of whether it is sold directly by a retailer or through an intermediary. Research by Ben Edelman and Julian Wright uncovers the hidden costs for consumers.
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America's infrastructure woes and how to fix them were front and center at the recent summit, America on the Move: Transportation and Infrastructure for the 21st Century, led by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
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The proposed marriage between American Airlines and US Airways would create the nation's largest airline. Professors Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Stuart Gilson reflect on a megamerger.
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Airlines and the FAA don't like flight delays any more than passengers, but what's to be done? Assistant Professor Douglas Fearing and colleagues propose a "fairness" system that could save travelers time and service providers millions of dollars annually. Key concepts include: The model could reduce flight delays by 4 percent or more on some of the worst travel days, resulting in a systemwide savings of $25 to $50 million annually.
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A new book looks at the history of the U.S. aviation industry through the eyes of its entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders—men like Pan Am's Juan Trippe and Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher—each emerging at different stages of the industry's evolution from start-up to rebirth. Who comes next? An interview with coauthor Anthony J. Mayo. Key concepts include: While disruptive forces can change an industry, so too can leaders themselves by the manner in which they run their enterprises. Different archetypes of leaders emerged as the U.S. airline industry evolved from start-up phase through deregulation and the shock of September 11, 2001. Airlines seem ripe for a new form of leadership to reenergize the industry.
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It was the Valentine's Day from hell for JetBlue employees and more than 130,000 customers. Under bad weather, JetBlue fliers were trapped on the runway at JFK for hours, many ultimately delayed by days. How did the airline make it right with customers and learn from its mistakes? A discussion with Harvard Business School professor Robert S. Huckman. Key concepts include: JetBlue's dependence on a reservations system that relied on a dispersed workforce and the Web broke down when thousands of passengers needed to rebook at once. A crisis forces an organization to evaluate its operating processes rapidly and decide where it needs to create greater formalization or structure.
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